Wu Li had received a firm response from Li Ruqi, so he naturally had no reservations in his live stream and spoke freely.
Although a day had gone without streaming, his follower count had been steadily rising, now reaching 1.12 million. However, the number of viewers in his live stream had not seen any breakthrough, in fact, it was much less than before, with the highest online viewership barely over ten thousand.
This is the problem that most internet celebrities face nowadays: their fame rises quickly, but it fades just as fast.
Mo Yin no longer featured Wu Li as a hot topic, and since he hadn't released any new content in the past two days, the number of people in his live stream had plummeted. However, this was within Wu Li's expectations. As long as Tomorrow's Headline's report came out the next day, and he released a short video to ride the wave, he believed he would quickly climb back onto the hot topic list.
On the other hand, Manager Zhang felt restless, pacing back and forth in the room while smoking.
He had previously worked in media, and the reason the MCN company signed him was because they valued his media resources. After all, the operation of internet celebrities required interactions with the media.
But unexpectedly, before he could use his media resources to hype up Ren Donglai, negative news was about to strike.
Once Tomorrow's Headline reported the incident of Wu Li's challenge this afternoon, it was predictable that the public opinion on Mo Yin would immediately tilt in favor of Wu Li, and all the momentum Ren Donglai had built from defeating a Yong Chun expert would be wasted.
It was already late at night, and it was inappropriate and too late to report to company leaders. Moreover, the father of that young lady was the boss of Editor-in-Chief Wang, and therefore definitely a high-level executive with Tomorrow's Headline. Such a person would be beyond even Manager Zhang's immediate superior's influence.
In the end, Manager Zhang made a phone call to Editor-in-Chief Wang.
"Brother Wang, could you give me that girl's phone number?"
...
The next morning, after finishing his morning practice, Wu Li returned to the hotel and ran into Li Ruqi in the lobby. It seemed that she had been waiting for him on purpose.
"Is there something?"
Li Ruqi lifted her chin slightly, "Ren Donglai's agent wants to meet with me and asked me to bring you along."
Wu Li was surprised, "That was fast. I haven't seen the news released yet."
Li Ruqi said with a disdainful expression, "Pfft, when I step in, it's as good as done."
"When and where is the meeting?" Wu Li asked.
"It's at the coffee shop next door. They'll be here soon."
"Okay, I'll go change clothes."
...
Half an hour later, Manager Zhang saw Wu Li and Li Ruqi at the coffee shop.
"Miss Li, Mr. Wu, I'm the manager of Sky Entertainment Culture Media Co., Ltd., Zhang Xiaodong. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Zhang Xiaodong, around thirty years old, wore a white suit, had a kind face, and appeared scholarly.
"Miss Li, Mr. Wu, I am truly sorry for what happened yesterday afternoon. On behalf of our company and the entire Eastward Boxing Club, I apologize to both of you."
Zhang Xiaodong didn't beat around the bush. After finishing his speech, he immediately stood up and bowed deeply at ninety degrees to Wu Li and Li Ruqi.
Li Ruqi remained unmoved and casually said, "Manager Zhang, please sit."
Only then did Zhang Xiaodong slowly take a seat, still smiling, "You two really make a handsome couple."
Wu Li gave a wry smile, realizing that Zhang Xiaodong had misunderstood. He turned to look at Li Ruqi next to him, expecting her to clarify, but she just took a sip of the coffee on the table, apparently unconcerned about the misunderstanding.
"Manager Zhang, aside from the apology, is there anything else?" Li Ruqi asked.
Zhang Xiaodong nodded, looking at Wu Li, "I wanted to meet with you two in person to apologize, and also to propose a collaboration with Mr. Wu."
Wu Li was a bit taken aback, "Collaborate?"
Zhang Xiaodong continued, "As far as I know, Mr. Wu, you haven't signed with any MCN company yet, have you?"
Wu Li confirmed, "That's right, I haven't."
Zhang Xiaodong said, "Then, I would like to formally extend an invitation to you on behalf of Sky Entertainment."
Wu Li was somewhat dumbfounded, "You're not suggesting that the condition for signing me is to make me stop causing trouble for Ren Donglai, are you?"
Zhang Xiaodong laughed, "Of course not. The reason we signed Ren Donglai is because we appreciate his audience in modern fighting. Your emergence has made us realize that, in terms of both personal image and ability, you have more potential than Ren Donglai. That's why we're interested in signing a contract with you."
"What about Ren Donglai?" Wu Li pointed out the crucial issue.
Zhang Xiaodong, taking a sip of his coffee calmly, said, "Each of you has your own focus. He specializes in modern combat, while you represent Traditional Martial Arts."
"That's probably not the case. Ren Donglai has always been claiming that Traditional Martial Arts are ineffective in a fight, that's precisely why I challenged him." Wu Li retorted with a cold sneer.
Zhang Xiaodong leaned in slightly, his gaze intense, "That's just what I was getting to. As long as you sign with our company, we can take this opportunity to make a big deal out of this event. Your match doesn't have to have a winner; instead, you can agree to a rematch later on. This way, your mutual popularity can be maintained for a long time!"
That was the solution Zhang Xiaodong had come up with after contemplating all night. Due to Li Ruqi's influence, once the media focused on Ren Donglai, he could no longer avoid the fight. And if he fought Wu Li and lost once, everything would be over. Zhang Xiaodong's previous efforts would be in vain. By signing Wu Li, the two could hype each other up, and he still had the chance to pick up an internet celebrity with even greater potential than Ren Donglai.
"You mean to say, you want me to take part in a fixed fight," Wu Li said without emotion.
Zhang Xiaodong's smile remained unchanged, "Mr. Wu, the reason you targeted Ren Donglai isn't just because of his public claim that Traditional Martial Arts aren't effective in a fight. Isn't it also because his fame is big enough? Otherwise, there are so many out there claiming Traditional Martial Arts are no good, but I haven't seen you challenging them one by one."
Wu Li neither confirmed nor denied, for of course he had his reasons for focusing on Ren Donglai.
"This shows that you also want to use Ren Donglai's fame to increase your own popularity. Since we all aim for fame, doesn't the plan I just suggested sound better?"
"Well, it certainly sounds better." Li Ruqi suddenly interjected with a scoff.
Zhang Xiaodong looked toward Li Ruqi, "Miss Li, obviously to any discerning eye, Mr. Wu has tremendous potential. When the time is right, we can have Ren Donglai lose to him, and his popularity will rise even higher!"
"Don't talk to me; the contract is with him. Ask him what he thinks," Li Ruqi said, pointing to Wu Li.
Zhang Xiaodong nodded with a smile, once more turning to Wu Li, "Mr. Wu, if you are willing to sign with our company, I can assure you that within two months, I can make your follower count exceed ten million! Whether it's promoting on Mo Yin or selling products, our company can provide you with the best resources!"